Everyone knows that director Nelson Dilipkumar has a wry sense of humour and a penchant for writing dark comedies. Now, he has turned producer for Bloody Beggar, a movie in this genre written and directed by debutant Sivabalan Muthukumar. (Also read: GOAT review: Fans call it Vijay’s best movie after Master)
What is Bloody Beggar about?
Bloody Beggar, as the title suggests, is about a beggar (Kavin) whose name we don’t get to know until the end. But then you learn that this strange fun-seeking beggar is not your typical beggar either. He lives with a young boy called Jack (Rohit Dennis), and while he employs all sorts of tricks to make a quick buck, Jack sells stationery at the traffic signals (akin to what we see in real life). The beggar won’t give Jack ₹10 to watch a movie but will order pizza from a food delivery app, and you’re left wondering what is behind this façade he is projecting. A disappointed Jack wills God to teach the beggar a lesson, and what a lesson it turns out to be!
One day the beggar is told of an ‘annadhanam’ (free meal) being offered at dead movie star Chandrabose’s (Radha Ravi) house. He lands up there for the meal and then realises he’s trapped inside the house. Somehow, he gets embroiled in the property dispute between the various heirs of Chandrabose. As he is trapped in the house, the beggar learns the scheming, manipulative plans of the dead actor’s greedy children, which sets off a series of hilarious situations.
How it fares
Sivabalan Muthukumar has written a black comedy filled with numerous characters and scenes that raise many questions. He infuses humour into scenes with their antics and funny lines. For instance, one grandkid of Chandrabose is constantly dressing up as his grandfather from various films. And there’s a lot of chatter about murders, the ghost in the house, and the beggar’s wife, Kani. One needs to keep track of the multitude of things that are happening, and it can get a bit trying. A large ensemble of characters has been used to create a laugh riot along with horror scenes, and they all fall into place in the second half. The emotional sequences and the beggar’s flashback portions are interjected between this, though, and this somehow adversely affects the film’s flow.
On the whole, Bloody Beggar, in which we see some trademark Nelson Dilipkumar touches , is a decent attempt by Sivabalan Muthukumar. There is some lag in this illogically scripted film, which affects the audience’s engagement. Some of the humour falls flat as well. Along with Kavin, the movie also features Redin Kingsley, TM Karthik, Akshaya Hariharan and many others. Kavin shoulders the film well despite its flaws, and one must commend him for that. If you are looking for something crazy and different to feast on this festive season, then Bloody Beggar could be the right treat. Or not.
